THE PROFESSOR'S DIRTY CLAIM
The rooftop of the ruined Apex tower was a fractured altar under the alien fleet’s shadow. The Architect hovered before Alex and Damian, its androgynous form shimmering with shifting constellations, tentacles of light extending like living promises. The Lagos night stretched below them, the city a battlefield of fire and blue energy, hybrids howling in the streets as the signal pulsed through the air. Alex’s swollen belly pressed heavily against his tactical vest, the hybrid child kicking with increasing urgency, its tiny tentacles brushing against the inside of his skin. The leather collar around his throat and the platinum chain beneath it felt like the only anchors left in the storm of co